Son of Kong

Son of Kong
Directed by	Ernest B. Schoedsack
Written by	Ruth Rose
Produced by	Ernest B. Schoedsack
Starring	Robert Armstrong Helen Mack Frank Reicher John Marston Victor Wong Edward Brady
Music by	Max Steiner
Release dates	December 22, 1933
Running time	69 minutes
Language	English

Template:Spoiler The Son of Kong is the sequel to the successful film King Kong. The story picks up about a month after the dramatic finale of the previous film and follows the further adventures of filmmaker Carl Denham (again played by Robert Armstrong), now implicated in numerous lawsuits following the destruction wrought by Kong. Denham leaves New York with the captain of the ship that carried Kong. They eventually run into the sailor who sold Denham the map to Skull Island (Hellstrom), who cons them into believing there is a treasure on the island. Along with a beautiful stow-away girl (Hilda) who trained monkeys for a circus act, they return to Skull Island where they meet, befriend, and are ultimately saved by Kong's easygoing albino son Kiko (a name used in production but never spoken in the film) [cite needed]. It was produced and released in 1933 immediately following the success of King Kong, and was a modest success. Son of Kong was recently released on DVD both by itself and as part of the Kong 1933 DVD collection edition.

File:Denham and Hilda.jpg

Carl Denham (left), as portrayed by Robert Armstrong with Hilda (Helen Mack) in Son of Kong

Since Kong had a son, he must also have had a mate. Her fate is a mystery. Unfortunately, Kiko is killed, as is every other creature on Skull Island, when the island itself suffers an earthquake.

An interesting point is that, at the time of the film release, albino gorillas were unknown; the first albino gorilla documented was Floquet de Neu, captured in Equatorial Guinea in 1966. This may be considered as a film serendipity.

Bestiary

• Giant Bear -- A gigantic bear that attacks Denham and Hilda but is driven off by Kiko.
• Styracosaurus -- Corners Hellstrom, Englehorn and Charlie into a cave, destroying one of their guns.
• Cave Serpent' -- A dragon-like creature that attacks Denham and Hilda, but is killed by Kiko. King Kong: A History of a Movie Icon, calls the creature 'The Dragon' all through its review of Son of Kong and complains that the fantasy element it presents distracts from the film.
• Pliosaur -- A very stylized, dragon-headed incarnation of this marine reptile eats Hellstrom as he attempts to flee.

External links

• The Son of Kong at IMDb